Flywheel ring gear replacing.. replace starter also?

My starter grinds on the flywheel ring gear often and I think it's time to change out the ring gear.

My question is, will I be needing to get a new starter also?

Will the problem continue with using the old starter? (The starter was rebuilt a year ago)

Picture of said starter after rebuild

F134.

 

if the starter needs a new gear.. are they readily available for this particular model, and easy to replace?

 

A rebuild can run as much as 400 or more. The core charge is about 125 plus, the drive is about 70. A decent auto electric repair shop should be able to test this starter for you and tell you if the bendix is good or not. As said above, you can inspect the ring gear teeth for wear.

 

On the other hand, I have bought good starters for under $50, and new bendixes for less than that. Check ebay.

I would think a new pinion gear (bendix) would be in order, if it is damaged by the ring gear. That's no big thing to do.

A ring gear is a big job. Have you inspected it to see if it is bad?

 

you replace the ring gear on a Fhead by heating the ring gear and tapping it off then heating the new one and tapping it on.
this may or may not fit your m38A1 http://walcks4wd.com/ring-gear-flywheel-129-tooth.html
put the new one in the oven. make sure to leave all oil on it so that everyone will know you're working on your jeep. I always do that.

 

Ha, yeah forgot you can do that. Still, everyone loves baked ring gear... mmm mmm mmmmmm

 

Depending on the year, some of the ring gears could just be heated and removed and be inverted and reinstalled. Some people have gotten more life out of the ring gear by just heating them and sliding them around about 30 degrees so the worn spot won't be in the area that the motor naturaly stops at. It looks like an old style starter so finding the drive gear might be fun to find and be sure the bushing in the bellhouseing is in good shape. I have a good electric rebuild shop near me so I have been able to find everything I need from them, if not from a FLAPS.

 

My starter teeth were in really bad shape, but I pulled the starter down and did a clean and restore on it, going so far as to undercut the mica in the commutator, polishing the shafts and sleeve bearings, but the main thing was, I replaced the Bendix gear that you are talking about. It is very easy to do and parts are available from Quadratec and others. The part cost me less than 50 bucks with shipping. Before doing this, I pulled the inspection cover and rotated the ring gear to look at it. It was in fine shape.

 

Yeah i know the ring gear is bad.. I actually already have a new one to slap on there.. came with the project.

 

That's an interesting solution.

It's been years since I've had one of them apart... The flywheel isn't indexed or keyed to the crank in any way, is it? Couldn't the same result be achieved by removing the flywheel bolts and clocking it 60 degrees (one set of bolt holes... if there are 6 bolts as I remember)? That would just take you back where you started on a 6 cyl, but it would stop on a fresh spot on a 4 cyl.

 

That rings a bell. Thanks for clarifying.